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Politics and Indian mindset

While I am writing this, U.P. is having its 6th phase of polls and the voting percentage is not encouraging at all.

The agenda of this article is to highlight the wrong mentality of people of India when it comes to politics.

Whenever I meet my friends, scroll through the newsfeed of Facebook, go through the tweets and interact with people, I find one thing common among them when it comes to politics: not-interested. And believe me, this is precisely the reason for the dismal condition of our country today.

As a young person belonging to general category, with a middle-class family and a decent job, I have no political aspirations. Yet, I am quite interested in Indian politics and give some time to go through the recent happenings, via newspapers, television, internet, or public discussion. One may ask…why?

Because, I don’t want my country to be in wrong hands. I disdain people with criminal background with their nefarious personal agenda taking control of our future and blocking the progress of my country and the people. If I am paying my taxes and putting up my effort for a better India, certainly I will be disturbed when I find politicians with ulterior motive misusing my money for their self-indulgence and inciting hate/violence/crime/hoax in the society to propel their propaganda.

And Indians…the less said about them, the better. Even after seventy years of Independence, they prefer to vote on the lines of caste, religion, region, etc., completely ignoring the need for social welfare and national interest. At this point, I would like to stress that this is not due to illiteracy, poverty, lack of judgement, or anything else. Majority of the people are neither gullible, nor naive. It’s their personal greed and selfishness that clouds their senses. It’s no hidden fact that in general, Indians are ego-centric, self-obsessed, fearful, and lack empathy towards others.

When it comes to the youth of this country, the problem aggravates. Not only they retain the above-mentioned personality traits, they also go a bit more forward in disliking politics. Many of them lack good values, morals, beliefs, etc. (mainly a result of rotting of the family system) and according to them, politics is meant for scums. After all, they are well-educated, have quality lifestyle, a nice job, adequate money; why shall they care about what’s happening in their surroundings? Not only this, they look down up on those who talk about politics and engage in related activities. In their opinion, discussing politics will degrade their aura and make them look out-of-fashion.

And guess who take advantage of all these? Of course, the wicked politicians who are unqualified to perform their duties and make a mockery of the system. Accompanying them are the scoundrels from media, anti-social elements, terrorists, Naxalites, foreign countries, and the list is endless. The end result: a vicious cycle of underdevelopment and its negative effects.

If we talk of our education system, our society, healthcare, infrastructure, all are at loss. An important point I want to highlight is that all these didn’t happen in a time of few years or decades, rather the entire Indian history is behind it. Our heritages have been destroyed, culture and traditions have manipulated, history has been distorted and a corrupt system has been put into place even before independence. It will be wrong to put the blame only on the foreign invaders or British rule. Look at Congress, the Leftists and regional parties…what they have done (or undone) since we got our freedom? The education system, media, and the so called intellectual domains are full of people who are bootlickers of these politicians. They continue to peddle lies that suits their agenda and sow the seed of hatred in the society. Young minds are poisoned right during the secondary school stage and that continues up to the highest level. Hand in glove are the stone aged Madrasas and Christian Missionary Institutes who serve their own purpose in the name of imparting education.

Consider the latest incidents at JNU and DU. What’s happening there? Just one thing: The Left parties trying to hold on their last bastion. For so many years, they have created divide in the society and deviated young minds. Nationalism is something that’s unknown to them and yet they retain the baton of intellectualism, socialism, liberalism, and what not. Now when they have seen the certainty of their demise, their activeness is at all-time high. By hook or crook they are trying to delay the event.

Take the example of any state and if you have your eyes and ears open, you will find: Terrorism in Kashmir, Conversion in Tamilnadu and several other states, Killing of Hindus in Kerala, Islamic rule in West Bengal, Drug problem in Punjab, Corruption in Bihar, Minority appeasement in U.P., farmers’ suicide in Maharashtra, Underdevelopment in Orissa, Naxalism in M.P. and Chattisgarh, demand for separate states in North-Eastern states, and so on. Yet, we prefer to remain a mute spectator. Why?

Are we under the illusion that whatever is happening in this country is not going to impact us on personal level? It is not going to destroy the future of our families and interfere with our own lives? Often, I get to hear: why think of politics, do something useful. Seriously? What guarantee is there that in this manner, you will remain isolated and unaffected?

I always say, politics is not wrong, doing bad kind of politics is. Our nation is limping only because of people like you. You have time to post cat videos on Facebook, selfies on Instagram, follow celebrities (are they?) on Twitter, get self-obsessed on Snapchat, check in luxurious hotels and go on vacations, watch movies, visit malls, and almost everything that you can; but no time to think about your country. Friends, just waiving national flag or singing national anthem will not show your patriotism, your actions will. While you have freedom and rights, don’t forget your fundamental duties. Fighting elections is not the only way to make contributions (although it is much appreciated).

My request: make yourselves aware of the recent happenings, get involved in politics…read about it, discuss it, make right decisions, and make this country a better place to live in. I am not asking to set aside much of your time, just a few minutes or half an hour. Trust me, in the long run, you will reap the benefit. Don’t expect a miracle in Indian politics without your participation.